Ladle car with rotatable well



Firs-L 1 May 5, 1970 Filed Dec. 16, 1966 H. E. HOBE LADLE CAR WITH ROTATABLE WELL 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HAROLD E. HOBE Attorney May 5, 1970 H. E. HOBE LADLE CAR WITH ROTATABLE WELL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1966 l/VVE/VI'OR HAROLZ E. H085 By g Attorney y 0 H. E. HOBE 3,509,830

LADLE CAR WITH ROTATABLE WELL Filed Dec. 16. 1966 4 SheetsShe et 3 /a m: E /s E; I I g /x' 'i 7/ 3 M f 44 J 7,2 L/ 76 II I z II c //VVENTO/ )l meow 5 H086 6/ 54 44 a 52 42 y Attorney y 0 H. E. HOBE 3,509,830

LADLE CAR WITH ROTATABLE WELL Filed Dec. 16. 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

l/VVE/V 70/? HA ROL D E. HOBE Attorney United States Patent 3,509,830 LADLE CAR WITH ROTATABLE WELL Harold E. Hobe, Johnstown, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16, 1966, Ser. No. 602,321 Int. Cl. B61b 3/04 US. Cl. 105455 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A molten-metal ladle transfer car having a ladle-receiving turret or well which is rotatable about its vertical axis for the purpose of rotating a ladle contained therein to orient its trunnions in a position suited to the directional orientation of a particular hoisting apparatus. The ladle-receiving turret is provided with roller elements spaced circumferentially at its lower edge resting on and adapted to travel along a ring plate in the car. A ring gear is attached to and extends around the outer circumference of the turret and meshes with a pinion of a powered drive mechanism.

The present invention relates generally to material handling and more particularly to a molten-metal ladle transfer car having a rotatable ladle well especially adapted to orient a ladle being transferred to suit the directional orientationof a particular hoisting apparatus.

Prior to my invention, transfer cars utilized to transfer ladies of molen metal to basic oxygen furnaces, open hearth shops, continuous casting shops, etc. were constructed with ladle supports which were permanently fixed with respect to the car structure so that the trunnions of the ladle being transferred by the transfer car were always oriented in one position relative to the car. Frequently, the crane or hoisting apparatus in the area in which the ladle was first placed on the car was provided with lifting bails which were oriented differently than the lifting bails of the hoisting apparatus which was to be used to remove the ladle from the car at its destination. Such a situation necessitated the use of a car turntable which in many cases was not practical. Another expedient which was tried to remedy this situation was to provide the crane or hoisting apparatus with an unwieldly rotating device which was not suitable for normal crane usage. This created delays caused by the necessity of installing and removing the cumbersome rotating device each time it was necessary to lift a ladle from a transfer car.

It is, accordingly, the primary object of my invention to provide an improved ladle transfer car having a rotatable well for supporting the ladle, and a power means connected with the well whereby the well and the ladle supported therein can be easily repositioned to orient the trunnions of the ladle in a desired position.

It is a more specific object of my invention to provide a ladle transfer car of the character set forth above wherein a horizontal ring plate is provided in the transfer car frame to support a ladle-receiving turret having roller means spaced circumferentially about its lower edge resting on the ring plate and adapted to travel therealong.

As a corollary to the object above, it is another object of my invention to provide a ladle transfer car of the character set forth wherein vertical centering rolls are journaled in the car frame circumferentially about the ring plate and in peripheral engagement with the ladlereceiving turret.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a ladle transfer car of the character set forth wherein shields are provided enclosing the path of the roller means of the turret to protect the same from molten metal and debris.

These and other objects will become more apparent from the following description of my invention and the enclosed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ladle transfer car according to my invention with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of FIG. 1 including a ladle shown in chain lines supported in the turret of the car;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view similar to FIG. 1 with parts omitted to more clearly show the turret-supporting elements of the car;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of FIG. 3 with the turret omitted showing the turret-supporting elements of the car;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the turret and the turret-supporting elements of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 5 showing the drive mechanism of the invention in addition to the turret-supporting elements; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 3 showing additional details of the turret-supporting elements of the lnvention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference character 2 designates generally a ladle transfer car provided with a rotatable ladle-receiving well or turret 4, in accordance with the invention. The frame of the car 2, which is shown mounted for movement along a trackway 14, includes spaced, parallel, longitudinally extending side plates or walls 6; and transverse, spaced, parallel end walls 8. Wheeled trucks 10 are spaced longitudinally of the car frame and are pivoted thereto by pivot shafts 12.

The turret 4 comprises an upright, open-end, cylindrical body having opposed recesses 16 formed in the top edge thereof and T-shaped slots in the sides thereof between the recesses 16. As best shown in FIG. 2, the recesses 16 provide a seat for the trunnion bearing pads 20 of the ladle L to be carried by the transfer car, and the slots 18 accommodate other laterally projecting structural elements on the exterior of the ladle L.

A splash curtain 24 extends circumferentially around the body of the turret 4 approximately midway between its top and bottom to protect underlying mechanism from molten metal splashing from the sides of the ladle.

The turrent 4 is provided with roller means 26 spaced circumferentially along the lower edge of the turret which function as load carrying wheels. Each of the roller means 26 includes an axle 28 which is fitted in one of a plurality of holes 30 spaced circumferentially along the bottom edge of the turret 4. At each end of each of the axles 28, the roller means 26 includes an inner race 32 through which the axles 28 are fitted, as best shown in FIG. 6, and an outer race 34. Rollers 36 are interposed between the races 32 and 34 to form a load-carrying wheel 38 at each end of each of the axles 28 on the inside and the outside of the lower edge of the turret 4.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a substantially rectangular supporting frame structure 40, consisting of a ring plate 42 rigidly secured to and supported by a plurality of spaced parallel joists 44, is disposed in the midportion of the car 2 with the joists 44 extending transversely between the car side walls 6. The structure 40 is provided with upwardly projecting plates 46 at each of the four corners thereof which extend upwardly substantially to the level of the tops of the side walls 6. The supporting structure 40 is attached to the car frame by means of upper and lower angle sections 48 which are welded to the corner plates 46, adjacent the tops and bottoms thereof, and are bolted to the side walls 6; and by means of a weld made along the facing edges of the plates 46- and the side walls 6, as at 50.

As best shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, a trackway is provided on the upper surface of ring plate 42 in the form of a circular plate 52 having bevelled edges 54. The trackway plate 52 is secured to the plate 42 by means of a circular track wedge 56 having a bevelled surface along its inner circumference adapted to mate with and engage the outer bevelled edge 54 of the trackway late 52. The track wedge 56 is secured to the ring plate 42 by nut-andbolt means 58 spaced therealong. A circular track keeper 60, attached to the ring plate 42 by spaced nut-and-bolt means 62, extends circumferentially around the trackway 52 and is provided with a bevelled surface 61 on its inner circumference which mates with and engages 'the outer bevelled edge of the trackway plate .52. The track keeper 60 is formed with an upwardly extending vertical wall 64, having an inwardly directed substantially horizontal top portion 66 for a purpose which will became apparent.

The load-carrying wheels 38 of the roller means 26 rest on and are adapted to roll along the trackway plate 52. The upwardly extending vertical wall 64 and its inwardly directed horizontal top portion 66 of the track keeper 60 forms a protective enclosure around the pathway of the outer load-carrying wheels 38 of the roller means 26 so as to protect the wheels from falling molten metal or debris.

The inner wheels 38 of the roller means 26 are protected from molten metal and falling debris by means of a continuous shield skirt 65 which is attached to the inner circumference of the turret 4 along a plane intermediate its height and extends downwardly and outwardly therefrom over and alongside the path of the inner wheels 38 along the trackway plate 52 to a plane adjacent the inner edge of the ring plate 42. A sealing ring 67 of neoprene or similar material is provided in the lower portion of the shield skirt 65 to seal the opening between the skirt and the ring plate. A similar sealing ring 69 is provided in the distal end of the top portion 66 of the track keeper 60 to seal the space between the track keeper and the outer surface of the turret above the roller means 26.

Vertical centering rollers 68 are journaled in the car 2 spaced circumferentially around and above the ring plate 42 in peripheral engagement with the turret 4. A wear plate 70 may be provided around the exterior of the turret for engagement by the rollers 68.

The turret 4 is rotated by means of a ring gear 72 which is attached to and extends around the outer circumference of the turret above the wear plate 70 in mesh with pinions 74 and 76, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Pinion 74 is connected with and driven by an air-operated motor-reducer unit 78 while pinion 76 is connected with and driven by an electrically-operated motor reducer unit 80. Both motor-reducers 78 and 80, which provide alternate means of rotating turret 4, are mounted on the car 2. When the air-operated unit is used to rotate the turret, the pinion 76 of the electrical units idles freely, and when the electrically powered unit is used, the pinion 74 of the air-operated unit idles freely.

The car 2 is helf-propelled on the trackway 14 by means of a pair of traction drives each consisting of a motor 84 with and driving a gear reducer 86 through a coupling 88 (see FIG. 1). Each of the two axles 90 at one end of the car is operatively connected with a gear reducer 86 so that operation of the gear reducers by motors 84 causes rotation of the axles 90 and the wheels 92 fixed thereon to propel the car along trackway 14.

Electrical energy may be supplied to the electrical systems in the car by collector shoes 94.

In operation, a ladle L to be transferred is placed on the car by means of an overhead frame (not shown) so that the trunnion bearing pads 20 of the ladle rest in the recesses 16 of the turret 4, as shown in FIG-2. The car is then propelled to carry the ladle to a desired destination. If the crane lifting means at the destination includes lifting bails which are oriented differently than the lifting bails of the crane which placed the ladle on the car, either the air-operated or electrically-operated motorreducer unit is operated to rotate the turret 4 so as to properly position the trunnions 98 of the ladle L in proper attitude for pickup by the crane to suit the orientation of the lifting means of the crane at the car destination.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described herein, other modifications will be readily apparent.

I claim:

1. A ladle transfer car including a frame and trucks spaced longitudinally thereof and pivoted thereto, said frame comprising spaced longitudinal side plates, a plurality of spaced parallel transverse joists extending between said plates in the mid-portion of said frame, a horizontal ring plate disposed on said joists, a ladle-receiving turret rotatably disposed on said ring plate, roller means spaced circumferentially at the lower edge of said turret resting on and adapted to travel along said ring plate, vertical centering rollers journaled in said frame spaced circumferentially around said ring plate and peripherally engaging said turret, said vertical centering rollers being disposed in a common horizontal plane above the horizontal plane containing said ring plate and intermediate the top and bottom of said turret, a ring gear attached to and extending around the circumference of said turret, and power means mounted on said frame including a pinion meshing with said gear.

2. A ladle transfer car as defined by claim 1 in which said roller means each include a pair of rollers mounted on a common axis one adjacent the outer surface and one adjacent the inner surface of said turret.

3. A ladle transfer car as defined by claim 2 including a shield flange projecting upwardly from an extending substantially along the outer circumference of said ring plate, said shield flange substantially enclosing the path of said outer-surface adjacent rollers along said ring plate.

4. A transfer car as defined by claim 3 in which the upwardly projecting portion of said shield flange is provided with a distal end directed toward the outer surface of said turret spaced above the lower edge thereof, and a sealing ring is interposed between said distal end and the outer surface of said turret.

5. A ladle transfer car as defined by claim 2 including a shield skirt projecting downwardly and outwardly from the inner surface of said turret along its circumference adjacent to and enclosing the path of said inner-surface adjacent rollers along said ring plate.

' 6. A ladle transfer car as defined by claim 5 in which said shield skirt extends downwardly to a lowermost point below the lower edge of said turret and adjacent the inner circumference of said ring plate, and a sealing ring is interposed between the lowermost portion of said shield skirt and said ring plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 312,556 2/1885 Cutter l05455 1,378,898 5/1921 Potts l0436 2,044,031 6/1936 Nieuwland 104-44 3,232,242 2/1966 Krueger l05455 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner 

